Locust Attacks- The Legal Perspective

Author - Sri Hari Mangalam

Introduction

India is facing one of its most devastating locust invasions in decades. Incidents of the pest's assault have been accounted for from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.[1] On May 28, 2020 the Delhi government put out a warning for farmers and crop cultivators to splash pesticides and be on the lookout for a potential attack. A year ago, Gujarat and Rajasthan had faced similar attacks. Nevertheless, the infestations have been far more devastating this year in light of a chain of atmospheric developments, executive laxity in a few neighboring nations, and the unconventional and unforeseen conditions instituted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specialists have cautioned state governments of massive crop destructions if the invasions are not controlled by July when the new season is expected to prompt another harvest cycle. Locusts are essentially a particular type of grasshoppers.[2] They are the oldest types of insects that migrate and pray on crop yields; the most destructive of the lot is the "Desert locusts".[3] These creatures are generally innocuous and harmless.[4] However, certain ecological conditions like a drawn-out winter or substantial cyclical developments cause them to reproduce much quicker in the same time frame. As their population increases, they change their conduct, form groups, and begin harming crops. The whole process is termed Gregarisation.[5] The development in conduct is activated by close physical contact, following which they are motivated to hunt for food in swarms. Accordingly, this paper attempts to present the current situation, analyze the legal constructs around it and express mechanisms to control widespread destruction.

The Indian Locust Specter

India's last large-scale locust invasion was in 2010.[6] Accordingly, there were 13 pest infestations somewhere in the range of 1964 and 1997.[7] However, from 1997 to 2010, the country's administrative authorities could effectively control five swarms.[8] From 2010 to 2018, there were no significant multitudes or gatherings recorded by the directorate for insect control, in Jodhpur.[9] However, in 2019, Gujarat and Rajasthan saw a massive increase in the number of locusts and accordingly reported it. Almost 3.5 lakh hectares of cumin, rapeseeds, and mustard crops were harmed and authorities reportedly termed it the worst assault since 1993. This was essentially because of an unusually long monsoon season clubbed with the inefficiency of the pest control operations and departments of the country.[10] The nascent growth in the population of the insects could have been controlled if effectual administrative mechanisms were in place.

Historically, India reeling from the 1926-1931/1932 plague, under the Britishers, had started studying the desert grasshopper.[11] A locust warning organization (LWO) was set up with its primary center in Karachi in 1939.[12] Its fundamental job was to keep an eye out for a particular sub-type of the species, especially the ones which moved in arid zones and migrated into the area from the Thar desert. There is an abundance of research papers and reports which show that locust assaults were a significant scourge for the British colonizers, who termed their invasions a plague, a practice that is followed till date.[13] Quite a few devastating invasions were recorded in 1812, 1821, 1843-44, 1863-67, 1869-73, 1876-81, 1889-98, 1900-1907, 1912-1920.[14] An especially terrible season in 1926-1931 incited the Britishers to establish the Karachi study center.[15] Upon gaining Independence, India set up its own establishment at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, as a subdivision of the Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage, under the Ministry of Agriculture.[16]

Legislative Precepts and Counter Measures

As usual Indian authorities, this year as well, have passed the buck to Pakistan for not utilizing satisfactory pesticides to stop the insects. It has been a type of convention for a long time, for entomologists from India and Pakistan to conduct meetings and divide pest control guidelines. While the absence of assets and deficient checking systems have been a fundamental issue, the novel coronavirus pandemic this year has caused an uncommon and unusual focus on natural catastrophes.[17]

While these insects are probably not going to be a danger in urban settlements as they don't have a lot of fodder, however; the national lockdown has made pesticide accessibility just as troublesome as accessing transportation, in most rural areas.[18] With the unavailability of workers, the annual pesticide showering cycle could face significant slowdowns, situating much space for the locusts to wreak havoc.[19] Experience shows that an insect plague for the most part follows a one to multi-year cycle after which there is a break for eight to nine years.[20] As a result of which nations, especially Asian ones, don’t tend to take these infestations seriously. Nevertheless, a few Indian legal constructs are available to deal with their invasions as and when they do happen.

Post the Bengal Famine of 1943, an Inquiry Commission formed by Sir John Woodhead was set up in 1944.[21] The Commission distributed its report a year later and eventually prompted the foundation of the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage.[22] Accordingly, apart from expanding the harvest production sphere through the course of economic horticulture, the Directorate endeavors to limit crop misfortunes by embracing control measures. It generally introduces such constructs through the use of the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914 bolstered by Plant Quarantine Order (Regulation of Import into India), 2003.[23] Unfortunately, the word locust hasn't explicitly been referenced in the Act which rather utilizes the expression 'any insect', seemingly diluting any specific measure for such infestations.[24]

However, the East Punjab Agricultural Pests, Diseases, and Noxious Weeds Act (1949) is one enactment that expressly specifies the term 'locust' in Section 4(1) (2).[25] As of late, it was under fire by concerned experts for the way in which it would inform male inhabitants, not beneath the age of 14, about the need for their presence in case of an invasion. Section 4(1) (2) (ii) of the Act has consistently been reprimanded for its chronologically misguided nature.[26] The explanation for the equivalent is that the male inhabitants are notified of their requirements through 'an announcement by the beat of drum or other standard modes in the town or territory'. In a time with cutting edge methods of correspondence it is more than advantageous to contact the inhabitants separately yet the antiquated Section 4(1)(2) (ii) stays unamended. Additionally, while the Act endeavors to make an effective system to manage circumstances like an insect intrusion, it doesn't consider the various phases of the assault. Each phase whether it is preliminary, an upsurge, or at plague levels, has various prerequisites. Henceforth, it becomes even more fundamental for the council to acquaint a different Act to specifically manage locust invasions.[27]

With India already reeling from the COVID pandemic, insects have again put the disaster management bodies under scrutiny in the country. One of the most crucial enactments with regards to natural disasters in India is the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (likewise DMA).[28] Both the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) are clubbed under section 46(1) and 48(1) of the DMA.[29] Both these relief funds supplanted temporary buffers at the central and state level respectively and visualized making an incorporated system for productive use of assets when managing an emergency. Despite the fact that these assets are for crisis utilization, to manage the issue effectively, fundamentally stronger regulations as well as more funds for research and development are essential. The implements in their current form have and will be unable to control a large-scale locust infestation.

Conclusion

The locust invasions have been devastating for Asian nations this year; India amongst most has faced the brunt of the insect’s attacks. Even though the calamity this time was not an unforeseen one, clubbed with the reeling effects of the pandemic; the locusts have made a significant dent in the country’s workings. The state has had a history of locust attacks spanning many decades, but in the time, it has failed to form effective provisions that could nip an invasion in the bud. Even though legislative tenets are available for the country to implement in such situations, a lack of deliberative use and minimally funded administrative set ups, cripple these tenets. In an effort to better understand the country’s needs, the government must formulate effective legislative inputs which remove any historic inconsistencies as well as properly fund the already existing centers. If India were to restrict future imbalances and large-scale attacks, a reformative approach towards its tenets as well as mechanisms to build the country’s existent riders must be adopted. A provision which can adequately and effectively respond to any future infestations, is the country’s current need.

[The author is a second-year law student at National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata]

[1]Times of India, Several Indian States reeling from Locust attacks, May 29, 2019, available at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/several-indian-states-reeling-from-locusts-attack-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/76083927.cms (Last visited on July 8, 2020). [2]The Indian Express, A New Concern: Early Locusts, May 9, 2020, available at https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-locust-agriculture-crops-india-lockdown-6400755/ (Last visited on July 8, 2020). [3]Id [4]Id [5]The Quint, India’s worst Locust attack in 26 years; what does the threat mean? May 28, 2020, available at https://www.thequint.com/news/environment/locusts-attack-india-what-it-means-explained (Last visited on July 8, 2020). [6]Id [7]The Hindu, The Hindu Explains, May 29, 2020, available at https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/the-hindu-explains-why-is-the-locust-surge-posing-a-threat-to-agriculture-in-india/article31712573.ece#:~:text=There%20were%2013%20locust%20plagues,(LWO)%2C%20in%20Jodhpur. (Last visited on July 8, 2020). [8]Id. [9]Id. [10]The Hindu, Massive Locust Invasions threaten Gujrat farmers, December 25, 2019, available at https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/massive-locust-invasion-threatens-gujarat-farmers/article30397949.ece (Last visited on July 8, 2020). [11]Supra Note 7. [12]Hindustan Times, India’s locust wing is the oldest in the world, June 28, 2020, available at https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-s-locust-control-wing-is-oldest-in-world/story-gqNQeO3kSCtKAUJKhOOJeO.html#:~:text=The%20British%20government%20established%20the,plague%20between%201926%20and%201931.&text=locust%20control%20programme.-,The%20British%20government%20established%20the%20Locust%20Warning%20Organisation%20(LWO)%20in,plague%20between%201926%20and%201931 (Last visited on July 8, 2020). [13]Id. [14]Scroll.in, How colonial India dealt with Locust attacks, July 8th 2020, available at https://scroll.in/article/963306/how-colonial-india-fought-locust-attacks-and-what-we-could-learn-from-those-tactics#:~:text=In%20the%20nineteenth%20century%2C%20India,made%20to%20combat%20the%20swarms.&text=This%20resulted%20in%20the%20formation,Central%20Locust%20Bureau%20in%201930. (Last visited on July 8, 2020). [15]Id [16]Id. [17]Supra Note. 7. [18]The Print, Indian Farmers can help keep economy going in Covid crises. But who will tell that to Modi? April 22, 2020, available at https://theprint.in/opinion/india-farmers-can-keep-economy-running-in-covid-crisis/406642/ (Last visited on July 8, 2020). [19]Id. [20]Supra Note. 14. [21]Supra Note. 12. [22]Id. [23]The Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914. [24] Id [25]The East Punjab Agricultural Pests, Diseases and Noxious Weeds Act, 1949. [26]The East Punjab Agricultural Pests, Diseases and Noxious Weeds Act, 1949, § 4(1)(2) (ii). [27]Id. [28] The Disaster Management Act, 2005. [29] The Disaster Management Act, 2005, § 46(1) & 48(1).